Required reading
by scarlet-egg
Summary: Priorities, Nick. You need to learn them.


_We're in for a rare treat today, folks! If we're_ _ **super**_ _quiet, I think we might actually - yes, yes, we_ _ **will**_ _! Gosh, what we have here is a once in a lifetime, seriously, bona fide_ _ **actual chance**_ _to see the incredibly-HYPER-RARE_ Mayas Feylinus _hunting in her natural habitat!_

 _Watch, as she spies her prey and stops instantly - he's sunning himself in the morning light, completely oblivious to his impending doom and the danger he has put himself in. It must be a beautiful sight for her, with the way she's practically_ _ **salivating**_ _, no doubt about it! See how her eyes widen at such an easy meal and she slowly turns her head, surveying her surroundings for hidden traps and - ah!_ _ **Ah**_ _! Now begins the hunt in earnest; she creeps towards him, silent as a ghost, taking advantage of their natural camouflage to hide her approach!_

 _What you're seeing here, my friends, is the result of_ _ **generations**_ _of evolution!_

 _Of course, it wouldn't be fair to attribute_ _ **all**_ _the success of this hunt to the_ Mayas' _natural grace and skill - her prey_ _ **is**_ _remarkably dense! See as she makes it into striking range and pauses, one last time, to savour the moment - and what a moment it will be!_

 _Here it comes! Here's the_ _ **final strike**_ _! Watch as she reaches out slowly - sloooowly -_

Nick's hand slapped right into Maya's face as she came down, and she meeped against his palm, yanking her arm back like it was burned. Her fingertips only _just_ missed his wallet, playfully peeking from his pocket

"I'm awake," he informed her, cracking one eye open. Not much could be seen past his hand, but he felt her expression shift.

"Hey!" Maya protested - or at least, she _probably_ said hey. It was hard to tell with how muffled her voice was, but then she shoved his hand away and fixed him with a glower. "I thought you were asleep!"

"Really," he remarked, dryly.

He stared at her. She stared at him. He dropped his own arm. In the silence, her expression changed again - but this time, it was to a sly grin, and he felt a cold chill skitter down his spine.

That was _never_ the kind of expression you wanted to see on her face, he'd learned.

"Hey, Niiiick?" the medium wheedled, as realization dawned.

"..."

 _Don't say it don't say it don't sa-_

"Weren't you meant to be _studying_...?"

 _Damnit._

"I _am_ studying," he responded confidently, and made no attempt to sit up. The fact he'd had enough practice figuring out how to twist so he could sprawl along the couch without squishing anything important didn't make him eager to _repeat_ the experience any more than necessary. Maybe one day they'd get rich, and he'd be able to afford a bigger one.

Ah, the infamous Wright sense of humour. If only there was someone to chronicle his underappreciated charm and wit.

"Really?" Maya asked, curiously. "Because it _looked_ like you were napping."

"I'm absorbing the information!"

"So how much did you _get_ through?" she challenged, planting both hands on her hips. His gaze flicked past her to the book lying on his desk, face down and discarded, and he felt a flash of guilt.

 _I read the first page, you know! Well... I mean... I_ _ **almost**_ _did!_

"Enough that I need time to _contemplate_ ," Nick shot back, as confidently as he could manage - but Maya wasn't buying it.

"Aw, just admit it, Nick!" she complained. "You lied when you said you needed silence to study - you just don't want me watching Pink Princess!"

 _ **Damn**_ _it!_

"That's not true!" he insisted, not quite as confidently. "I really _do_ need to study! Because... uhm..."

She waited while he frantically searched for an excuse - but there wasn't one on the floor, or on the ceiling, or on the wall, or even _behind_ them.

His office was, by and large, completely devoid of convenient excuses, because _of course_ it was.

"...of _reasons_ ," he finished, rather lamely, and her cheeks puffed up in indignation. He felt any false sense of authority he'd fooled himself into thinking he had slip away.

"You're meant to be a lawyer!" Maya accused, crossing her arms and frowning. "How are you the world's _worst_ liar?"

Nick sighed - there wasn't really any point trying to _argue_ with her when she was like that, after all. She spun away before he could even try to, and he gave up, closing his eyes and waiting to hear the door slam as she stormed away. He'd have to do something _really_ big to make this up to her, he suspected.

...He heard only silence. He opened one eye again, cautiously, and found she was still staring down at him - but the indignation was gone, replaced by something that looked very much like Hurt Feelings.

"You don't _want_ to watch Pink Princess with me?" she said, very quietly. "Do you _really_ hate me that much, Nick?"

"What? No!" He shot upright instantly, waving his hands frantically in an attempt to reassure the teenager. "Of course not! It's just- uh- _Edgeworth_!" Oh man, you're a goddamn _genius_. "He'd get jealous!"

"I think he'd get _something_ , yeah."

Ugh - she wasn't even going to buy _that_? What had he done to deserve this kind of torture?

"Uhm-"

"He doesn't even _watch_ Pink Princess!" she added, tearing up. "I _asked_!"

Nick could feel it: guilt was going to win out over logic. He struggled to maintain his serious face, and even as he did, it slipped away, inch by inch. He sighed again, reluctantly meeting Maya's teary-eyed gaze.

"...Okay," he agreed, defeated, and her face instantly lit up.

"I _knew_ you'd come around eventually!" she crowed happily, and leapt onto the couch - she got tangled up in her robes, of course, but he patiently stared at the ceiling until she'd got herself all sorted out. He wasn't even surprised to find her sitting right _next_ to him, despite the vast expanse of couch he wasn't currently occupying. "You're gonna _love_ this Nick - I _promise_!"

He gave her and her triumphant grin and her hand close to him a doubtful look, and let his gaze wander towards the book, still on the desk.

He could read _that_ , or he could watch _this_.

...In the end, it was a much, _much_ harder decision than he would have liked to make at 9 o'clock in the morning.


End file.
